This band sound like a head on collision between Iron Maiden, Guns N Roses, and Shai Hulud style hardcore with a little bit of Cradle Of Filth style bombast. Which is a very good thing in my book in itself, yet why is it that Avenged Sevenfold are so ‘cool’? Y’know, street credible. I went to one of their gigs last year and I was surprised at how young the audience were for a so-called extreme metal band. Well ok, not extreme then, but definitely old-school. I guess it’s the fact that not only are they American which always seems to help, but that they pen truly memorable hooks, riffs and choruses. Add to that the fact that they seem to enjoy watering down their sound to a more alternative rock flavour as on “Bat Country”, which sounds like a softer CKY, and you can see why Avenged Sevenfold are, to put it mildly, pretty big.
This album is all about divebombing twin guitars, as melodic as the singing, which is very melodic, even more so than say, a Bad Religion album (another one of the influences cited on Avenged Sevenfold’s press release). In a way it kinda puts me off and the melodies themselves are often a little bit strained and convoluted.
On the other hand, the guitar melodies are perfect when they rip into some serious old school metal worship, which is quite often on this album. Well worth a listen.
